Conrad: A Collection of Critical Essays

by Ed. Marvin Mudrick

1966. Third Printing. 182 pages. This is an ex-Library book. Pictorial paper cover with plastic laminate. Ex-Library copy, with expected inserts, stamps and inscriptions. Pages are bright, with light tanning to text block edges. Rubbing and a few small nicks along text block edge. Cover has light shelf-wear to edges and surfaces, with slight curling to corners. Mild crushing to spine ends, with a subtle forward lean.

192 pages, Paperback

First published January 28, 1966

Reviews

[Bryan--The Bee’s Knees · Rating 3 out of 5]

I ended up disappointed with this collection on Conrad; I found it very dry, even for literary criticism. I thought it was interesting though that most of the essayists included here are somewhat ambivalent about Conrad--or perhaps better to say that they see him as a very uneven writer. Strange too that the first entry in the collection isn't an essay but a parody by Max Beerbohm (The Feast), and maybe that summarizes editor Mudrick's opinion of Conrad--that he was ripe for reevaluation. Or maybe Mudrick was just an iconoclast, I don't know.

Anyway, of the eleven contributions here (momentarily setting aside The Feast), the ones that held my interest were "The Unspeakable Rites in Heart of Darkness", by Stephen A Reid (a bit of literary detective work), and "Conrad on the Theory of Fiction", by Ford Maddox Ford. The others were of limited interest, and that could be because I did a fair amount of reading about Conrad when I was reading Lord Jim, Under Western Eyes and Nostromo last year.

At any rate, your mileage may vary--while not exclusively, I thought too much of the collection focused on superficial matters such as technique and biographical data, rather than shedding much light on larger themes. Still, it is a handy collection of Conrad criticism for those wanting to investigate further into his body of work.